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The TAILWIND Project will embrace sustainable-by-design principles to deliver advanced station-keeping technologies.
The TAILWIND project, launched in January 2024, will deliver advanced station-keeping technologies, designed to maintain the position of floating offshore wind energy farms through innovative mooring lines and anchoring systems. The development of these technologies is critical to open new paths towards the global effectiveness and sustainability of FOW farms, driving tangible cost savings while reducing dependency on primary raw materials.
A global market and technology leader in material science of steel wire transformation and coating technology, Bekaert also develops beyond-steel solutions with its Scottish-based synthetic rope manufacturing facilities. Bekaert was invited to join the TAILWIND consortium for its experience in offshore mooring systems.
“I am very pleased that Bekaert is involved in the TAILWIND project that will further enable the growth of floating offshore wind which plays an important role in accelerating the generation of clean, sustainable energy” states Christof Dewijngaert, General Manager Synthetics at Bekaert. “With our track record in mooring systems for offshore oil and gas, we are committed to contributing to enabling the scale-up of more optimal station-keeping concepts and systems for floating offshore wind.”
Sustainability will be the key enabler for the value creation of the TAILWIND Project. A wide range of stakeholders will be engaged to investigate the acceptance of potential new technologies to act as a catalyst for increasing affordable wind power in the energy mix. TAILWIND also targets a significant reduction of the levelized cost of electricity (LCOE) produced by FOW farms thanks to the higher cost-efficiency of the new mooring and anchoring solutions, avoiding bottlenecks and major dependency on the supply chain.
“We are proud to kick off this important project with a world-leading consortium bringing industry and research together to develop more sustainable and cost-effective solutions for mooring floating wind turbines” remarks Thomas Langford, Director Offshore Energy at NGI. “We believe that TAILWIND has the power to deliver critical step-changes to industry practice, and look forward to seeing the project develop over the next few years”.
The TAILWIND project, funded by the EU’s Horizon Program, contributes to the goals set by the “REPowerEU” Plan and the “Fit for 55” package, aiming to accelerate the roll-out of renewables, diversify energy supplies and trigger consistent energy savings.
The TAILWIND consortium is composed of NGI - Norwegian Geotechnical Institute (Norway), Technische Universiteit Delft (Netherlands), Danmarks Tekniske Universitet (Denmark), SINTEF Ocean AS (Norway), Fundación Tecnalia Research & Innovation (Spain), Nautilus Floating Solutions (Spain), Bekaert (Belgium), Subsea 7 Norway AS (Norway), Fondazione ICONS (Italy), Clarke Modet Y Compania S.L. (Spain), NKT Cables Group A/S (Denmark), University of Southampton (UK).
About Bekaert
Bekaert’s ambition (bekaert.com) is to be the leading partner for shaping the way we live and move, and to always do this in a way that is safe, smart, and sustainable. As a global market and technology leader in material science of steel wire transformation and coating technologies, Bekaert also applies its expertise beyond steel to create new solutions with innovative materials and services for markets including new mobility, low-carbon construction, and green energy. Founded in 1880, with its headquarters in Belgium, Bekaert (Euronext Brussels, BEKB) is a global company whose 24 000 employees worldwide together generated € 5.3 billion in combined sales in 2023.
Bekaert sustainability strategy
From making a positive impact with its sustainable solutions and practices, to building a diverse and inclusive future, Bekaert is determined to improve life and create value for all stakeholders. Bekaert delivers on its sustainability strategy by developing and offering sustainable solutions, using materials and energy responsibly, conducting the highest business ethics standards, improving health and safety at the workplace, and engaging employees and business partners throughout the supply chain. By investing in renewable energy, Bekaert contributes to reaching emission reduction targets and accelerating the energy transition that is required to reduce the impacts of climate change.
Disclaimer
This press release may contain forward-looking statements. Such statements reflect the current views of management regarding future events, and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Bekaert is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements contained in this press release in light of new information, future events or otherwise. Bekaert disclaims any liability for statements made or published by third parties and does not undertake any obligation to correct inaccurate data, information, conclusions or opinions published by third parties in relation to this or any other press release issued by Bekaert.
Investor Relations: Guy Marks
T +32 56 76 74 73 - E: guy.marks[.]bekaert.com.
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katelijn.bohez[.]bekaert.com 
